Morgan's Canon, Garner's phonograph, and the evolutionary origins of language and reason

Close
Usage Conditions Apply
The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact photos@si.edu.
Print
 

Summary

Discusses the research of Richard Lynch Garner on primate speech, including his use of the phonograph to record primate vocalizations in the 1890s. Radick relates Garner's research to the theory of animal behavior known as "Morgan's canon," advanced by British geologist Conwy Lloyd Morgan, building on the work of Friedrich Max Müller, which influenced the new field of comparative psychology. Radick discusses Garner's expedition to the Congo in the 1890s to record and study primate vocalizations and the reception of his work by the scientific community.

Subject

  • Garner, Richard Lynch
  • Morgan, Conwy Lloyd 1852-1936
  • Müller, Friedrich Max

Category

Smithsonian History Bibliography

Notes

Documentation of Garner's research on primate communications is located in both Smithsonian Institution Archives and the National Anthropological Archives.

Contained within

British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 33 (Journal)

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

2000

Topic

  • Scientific expeditions
  • Primates
  • Language and languages
  • Congo
  • Psychology, Comparative

Place

Africa

Physical description

Number of pages: 21; Page numbers: 3-23

Full Record

View Full Record